Former LSU Coach Brian Kelly Heading to CBS Broadcast Booth in 2026

Former LSU football coach Brian Kelly will not be leading a team on the field in 2026, but he will still be part of college football. According to Front Office Sports, Kelly is joining CBS as a broadcaster for Mountain West Conference games. The news was reported on Wednesday, June 24. Kelly will work in a three-person broadcast booth and will also appear on the CBS Sports Network weekly show "Inside College Football."

Kelly's move to television comes after a rough ending at LSU. The 64-year-old coach was fired midway through the 2025 season after the Tigers lost badly to Texas A&M. That defeat was their third loss in just four games. LSU then hired former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin to take over the program.

Even though Kelly was fired, LSU still owed him a lot of money. The school paid him a $54 million buyout, which is money a school pays a coach when it ends the contract early. However, his contract required him to look for work in coaching or media to help reduce the amount LSU had to pay. His new CBS role fits that requirement, and he also took part in CBS Sports Network's NFL Draft coverage earlier this year.

Kelly has had a long and successful career as a college football coach. His overall record is 297 wins, 109 losses, and 2 ties. He coached at several schools, including Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and LSU, as well as Division II Grand Valley State. He has won the Home Depot Coach of the Year award three times, which is one of the top honors in college football coaching.

Despite his new TV job, Kelly has made it clear he wants to return to coaching someday. In April, he told USA TODAY Sports that he enjoys this time away but still misses the sidelines. "I wanna be back coaching, that's what I love to do," he said. He also talked about how this break has given him time to think clearly and spend more time with his family.

CBS is also making other changes to its college football coverage this season. Play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler will now be joined by analyst Charles Davis, replacing Gary Danielson, who retired after the 2025 season. CBS currently has the rights to one Big Ten game per week, Mountain West games, and the Army-Navy game each year. The network lost its bid to carry SEC games, which were picked up by ABC and ESPN instead.